Sep. 13, 2013

Written by

News-Leader Staff and Wire Services

SALT LAKE CITY — An online “hacktivist” who had claimed responsibility for breaking into the city of Springfield’s website and others has been sentenced to three years in federal prison.

John Anthony Borell III of Toledo, Ohio pleaded guilty to computer fraud in April and agreed to pay $227,000 in damages to computer servers that had to be repaired or beefed up for security.

The 22-year-old, who was linked to the hacker collective Anonymous, was sentenced Thursday for breaking into police and other websites across the country. In early 2012, Borell attacked the city of Springfield website as well as a server for Utahchiefs.org; a website for Syracuse, N.Y., police; and a site for the Los Angeles County Police Canine Association, according to a signed plea deal.

FBI officials have said citizen complaints about drugs and other crimes were accessed along with personal data of informants and police officers.

Springfield’s website, www.springfieldmo.gov, was breached Feb. 17, 2012, exposing the personal information of more than 2,000 local residents who had filed or been listed on online police reports, warrants and summonses.

City staff temporarily disabled building permit searches and other functions on the site in the wake of the attack. Damage Borell caused put the website of Salt Lake City police out of operation for four months while a more secure site was launched.

Borell, who posted under the Twitter account @ItsKahuna, claimed affiliation with the hacker group CabinCr3w, as well as Anonymous, an umbrella group that includes Internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists that have targeted financial institutions such as Visa and MasterCard, the Church of Scientology and law enforcement agencies.

Many of the online attacks conducted by CabinCr3w targeted law enforcement sites. Another member, Higinio O. Ochoa III, 30, of Galveston, Texas, was arrested and prosecuted for attacks on police and public safety organization websites in West Virginia, Alabama and Texas during February and March.

(Page 2 of 2)

Documents filed in that case said authorities caught Ochoa, who used the Twitter handle @Anonw0rmer, in part using pictures he posted of an Australian woman — described as his girlfriend or wife — after the alleged breaches.

Borell, who also recently married, was given until Dec. 6 to surrender at a federal prison near his family’s home in Toledo.

During sentencing in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Borell — dressed in a suit with a pink shirt — told Judge Robert J. Shelby that his marriage was going well and his wife was providing personal support. He said little else.

The judge touched on a history of Borell’s personal problems that apparently were a factor in the hackings. The defendant was ordered to accept mental health treatment and stay away from drugs. None of these issues, however, were fully explained in open court.

Outside court, Borell refused to answer any questions about his motives. He will spend three years on supervised release after prison.

“We don’t want to see you in court again,” Shelby said.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons will make the final decision on where Borell serves his sentence after he turns himself in. The judge recommended a prison in Michigan near his family home.